Running from Fire
by stkichi
Summary: After Avatar Aang was frozen in the iceberg, the Fire Nation launched a devastating attack on the Air Nation. The remnants of the genocide are left to survive, confused and wondering where their Avatar has gone.
1. The Southern Air Temple

**The Southern Air Temple**

The news spread fast through the Southern Air Temple. Aang, one of the youngest airbending masters ever, was the Avatar. The council had tried to keep it under wraps, but once word got out it was impossible to keep it contained.

Owyn scoffed at the news when he first heard it. The pale skinned 12 year old airbender in training always knew something was up with that showoff. Now it all made sense, the only reason he could master the element of air so easily was because he was the Avatar. Owyn would almost say it wasn't fair that Aang would get even more glory, but after seeing the way the other kids excluded Aang now, he couldn't be happier with the news.

It wasn't that he didn't like Aang as a person, in fact they had been the closest of friends just a few years back. That changed quickly though when they began their airbending training and it became quite clear that while airbending came naturally to Aang, Owyn struggled with the most basic of forms. Aang had mastered 35 of the 36 airbending forms and became a master when he invented the air scooter, which Owyn thought was rather unfair that he could use his own move to earn his mastership. Meanwhile, Owyn had only mastered 5 airbending forms, half of what was to be expected of someone of his age.

So instead of beginning to work on advanced glider techniques like the rest of the air nomads his age, Owyn was stuck in Master Gyatso's class, usually reserved for the youngest air nomads. He smacked his bald head in frustration as he listened to Gyatso drone on about proper breathing and how to flow with the wind.

The young air nomads in the class, ranging from 5 to 7 years old all gazes intently at the aging master, while Owyn stared out towards the air surrounding the air temple, where several of his friends rushed past on their gliders.

After what seemed to be an eternity Gyatso dismissed them from their lesson and Owyn ran off to the upper parts of the air temple, hoping to find his friends as they finished their lesson.

"Hey Owyn, wait up!" A cheery voice called from behind him.

Owyn groaned in frustration, being able to pick out _his _voice from anywhere. He stomped his feet dramatically and turned to face Aang. "What do you want?"

Aang either ignored or didn't pick up the animosity of his voice as he continued to smile brightly at Owyn. "Have you seen Master Gyatso?"

"I'm sure that the Avatar doesn't need any help locating someone." Owyn spat out and turned on his heel to continue on his path, missing the pained look on Aang's face as he slowly walked towards the direction Owyn had come from.

He arrived at the top of the temple only to find that his friends had already made it back and dispersed. Owyn sighed heavily and was about to leave as a gust of wind drew his attention back to the outer platform.

Standing there was a young master airbender with a glider being held firmly in his grasp, wearing a loose orange vest over a yellow shirt while his bottom half was covered with dark brown pants and high boots. Owyn looked down at his own apprentice clothes in disgust. The man walked up towards him and it finally dawned on Owyn that he in fact knew this man.

"Kiron!" He yelled excitedly before propelling himself into the man's arms.

Kiron stumbled backwards slightly at the unexpected weight before righting himself once more. "It's good to see you too Owyn." He patted the young boy on the back before setting him down.

"So?" Owyn looked at him expectantly.

"So what?" Kiron rubbed his small goatee quizzically.

"You're not going to tell me how your spiritual journey went?" Owyn practically jumped into his arms once more from excitement.

Kiron chuckled lightly, "Maybe later, for now I have to go talk to the council." Upon seeing Owyn's face drop he hunched over to the boy's level. "I'll tell you what, tomorrow you and I will sneak off and I'll tell you all about my adventures."

Owyn nodded vigorously before hugging Kiron once more and running off to the living quarters, eager to tell his friends that Kiron had returned. His mind raced back to the last time he had seen the young master. It had been nearly two years since Kiron went off on what the air nomads called a "spiritual journey". All that entailed was basically any new master airbender would go and explore the world before returning to help teach a new generation of air nomads. Of course, usually nobody returned as fast as Kiron did. Most stayed in the other nations for upwards of twenty years, Owyn thought that maybe his early return was because of the rumors.

Owyn shook his mind to clear his head of such thoughts, knowing that the rumors were nothing more than just simple gossip. Instead he focused back on his and Kiron's past.

Despite their ten year age difference, Kiron and Owyn were quite close before his departure. Kiron tried his hardest to teach Owyn everything he could about how to airbend and it really helped. Kiron seemed to be the only one whose teachings actually stuck with Owyn, so it was no surprise how much he regressed after his friend had left.

Finally arriving at the living quarters, he was quite surprised to see that those too were practically deserted. The sun was setting just as Kiron arrived, which normally meant that the air nomads would be returning to their bedrooms. Owyn shrugged before deciding to turn in early for the night.

* * *

><p>"Aang left."<p>

"What's that supposed to mean?" Owyn turned to ask Kiron as the pair descended a staircase leading to the lower parts of the temple.

"He just...left. Apparently he took Appa last night and just took off. He left Master Gyatso a note saying as much."

Owyn thought back to the last conversation he had with Aang, a brief flash of guilt ran through his body before it was quickly replaced by the resentment he held towards the young Avatar. "Good riddance."

Kiron frowned at the boy. "How can you be so mean to the poor guy? He just found out he was the Avatar, that's a lot of responsibility to put on a kid."

"Oh boo hoo, poor Aang got even more attention than before."

"Listen Owyn, you cannot understand how much pressure is on Aang with the way the world is now."

"Yeah, whatever." The two air nomads turned down a hall leading to the bison stables. Owyn briefly looked out the window and was surprised to see that instead of the early morning sunrise, the whole sky had been dyed a deep maroon color. "What's up with the sky?"

Kiron turned to look out the window. "Oh no, I thought we had more time." Nearby footsteps from the staircase they came from drew their attention away from the blood red sky. "This isn't good." Kiron looked around nervously, leaving Owyn even more confused.

"Kiron what is-" Owyn's question lingered in the air as two men entered the hallway, each adorned with matching armor consisting of reds and blacks, their faces hidden behind menacing skull masks.

Before either air nomad could question just what was happening the two armored men sent out two flame blasts towards Kiron and Owyn. Kiron acted quickly and spun his glider around quickly in his hands, the outgoing air barely deflecting the fire away. The intensity of the flames was like nothing Owyn had felt before and he worried that he could catch fire just by looking at the now ablaze hallway.

"Owyn, run to the stables and find a sky bison!" Kiron's sharp order brought him back to reality.

"But-"

"Get as far away from the temple as you can!" Kiron snapped at him again before shoving him towards the stables with an air blast.

Owyn ran as fast as his legs would take him, his lungs nearly suffocating as the air all around him had seemed to turn smoke and ash filled in a mere moment. He arrived at the stables and looked around in utter shock. The stables were no longer occupied by the air bisons, but in their place was even more of those armored firebenders, as well as the most terrifying creature Owyn had ever seen in his young life.

He had heard stories about dragons, the loyal companions to a select few firebenders, but those tales truly failed to grasp just how massive they were. They easily took up the length of four air bisons put together and even their wings made the sky bison look tiny by comparison.

"There's another one!" One of the armored men finally took notice of Owyn, who was still standing there gawking at the beast.

Finally the impending rush of heat awoke him from his stupor and he used a gust of air to propel himself over the blast. The near proximity of the flames were enough to char his clothes. The other men quickly caught on and Owyn's eyes widened in horror as flame erupted from each of their outstretched hands.

Having only one escape option he once again used an air gust to push himself closer to the cliff side, once again narrowly avoiding being burned. It wasn't more than a split second that another rush of flames was coming towards and forced Owyn to do the only thing he could. He jumped.

The fire went harmlessly over him as he plummeted to the ground. Owyn shot off several puffs of air below him, only for each one to fail to slow his rapid descent. He clamped his eyes shut, awaiting what he hoped would be a quick and painless death.

Instead of the hard ground though, he felt a strong arm wrap around his waist. Owyn opened his eyes to see none other than Kiron hanging onto him, his glider keeping both of them up in the sky safely.

Owyn opened his mouth to speak, but upon seeing the tears forming in Kiron's eyes, thought better. He shifted slightly in Kiron's grasp to get a better look at the temple, which they now were flying away from. A silent gasp escaped his lips as he took in the scene.

Above the temple was the source of the reddened sky, a comet grazing awfully close to the nearby clouds. Below the comet was a sickening sight, one that was burned into Owyn's memory instantly. The temples were all ablaze, fire seemingly clinging to every surface. From this distance he could still see flames being shot off in various directions, as well at least ten dragons circling the towers.

He tore his eyes away, his stomach not being able to handle much more of the sight.

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you so much for reading the first chapter of my new story, Running from Fire. As you can see, this story will be focusing on the last of the Air Nation after Aang was frozen in the iceberg. If you are wondering how this will affect my other stories, it probably won't. I see this getting updated once every two weeks or so, while my other two stories will be getting consistent updates until they are finished. This story is more my way of getting back into writing and exploring what I believe to be a really under talked about piece of the Avatar Universe. Thanks, and until next time, please enjoy.<p>

P.S. Pronunciation: Owyn (Oh-when) Kiron (Key-ron)


	2. The Eastern Air Temple

**The Eastern Air Temple**

Mina rolled her shoulders, attempting to work out the last of her kinks before setting off to see Sister Lio in the nursery. Today the 15 year old airbender in training found herself tasked with what she considered the worst job in the entire temple, taking care of the newborns and infants.

Sister Lio always told her that her motherly instincts would kick in with time, but Mina was beginning to doubt that. Whenever she held any of the babies she had to resist gagging at their smell, an attribute of their unabashed bladder control. Regardless it was something that she had to deal with if she wanted to earn her airbender tattoos. Supposedly learning to take care of the newborns was a way to foster community and better connect with everyone. Mina scoffed at this, knowing this was just simple chores.

After throwing on her trainee robes she looked outside the window to see it was a little before dawn. Strangely the sky seemed to be quite bright for dawn though, but she thought nothing of it as she grabbed her glider and ran out the door. Knowing how much Sister Lio preached punctuality Mina decided the quickest way to the nursery would be through the air.

She dove out a nearby window and let the crisp morning air run through her hair for a few moments before she opened her staff's wings and began ascending up towards the nursery. Her short brunette hair flailed wildly as the wind rushed past her, with tears forming in her hazel eyes due to her refusing to blink during such an exhilarating ride.

Not wanting the journey to be over she overshot the nursery's door and went in through one of its high windows. She landed with a gust of window and a wide smile, which quickly dropped as she observed the other girls all staring at her with contempt.

"Uh...hey." She said sheepishly and offered a weak wave.

"Are you trying to wake up the babies?" One of the other girls whisper-yelled at her in a shrill voice.

"Sorry, I just-"

"Shhhh!" All the other girls shushed at her when she opened her mouth again.

"Girls, please." Sister Lio came to her rescue. "I'm sure Mina here did not mean to wake the babies. Besides, it is almost time for their morning feeding anyway." She smiled at Mina warmly, before looking at the window and narrowing her eyes at something in the distance. "If you'll excuse me girls, I must go check on something."

Sister Lio quickly darted out the door, with Mina hot on her tail attempting to thank her teacher for covering for her.

"Sister Lio- woah" Mina's call for her teacher stopped short as she took in the now completely red sky all around the temple.

Lio looked at her with tears forming in her eyes. "Mina, quickly get inside we have to gather the newborns and get to the bison stables."

Mina nodded briefly, realizing that whatever was bothering Sister Lio shouldn't be taken lightly.

"Girls!" Lio's normally soothing voice came out in a panicked gasp. "We have to leave-"

Her orders came to an abrupt halt as the entire temple shook. Mina looked up just in time to see part of the roof beginning to cave in on top of them. Instincts took over as she shot a gust of air and pushed Sister Lio out of the way on one side of the room, which in turn pushed her against the wall on the opposite end.

She hit the wall with a hard thud, her back absorbing most of the contact. The ringing in her ears persisted as she attempted to stand, but was quickly cut off as a sharp cry pierced the air. Finally she opened her eyes to take in her surroundings and realized that the roof has separated her from the rest of the air nomads. Well, almost all the air nomads.

The source of the cry came from a small infant bundled up in a cocoon of blankets close to the collapsed roof, probably pushed out of their crib by Mina's strong air blast. Mina rushed over to the small child and scooped them up in well quick motion. She did a quick once over and upon seeing that there were no injuries that she could find, breathed a sigh of relief. The moment did not last long though as she heard more of the building straining under the pressure of its own weight, ready to collapse at any moment.

Mina grabbed her staff from the ground and adjusted her arms to properly hold the little girl before sailing out the window. Her eyes widened quickly to take in the sight all around her. The temple was now covered with firebenders, all burning anything they got close to. In the air surrounding the temple were the magnificent beasts a select few firebenders could call their own, dragons.

The young airbender shook her head, attempting to focus back on her primary goal: rejoin Sister Lio and the others back at the bison stables. Quickly she pointed her glider downwards, the stables being at the lower portion of the air temple.

A small cough distracted her from her task as she suddenly remembered she still had the little air nomad girl tucked under her arm. With a bit of awkward maneuvering, she managed to pull the infant's blanket over its mouth, better protecting from the smoke that was now everywhere.

In another few moments Mina arrived at the stables, or rather what was left of the stables. Instead of small grass patches surrounded by small wooden barns, the entire field was now ablaze, no bisons in sight. She landed anyway, hoping perhaps the thick smokescreen was just obstructing her view. The decision to land was very rapidly shown to be a bad one though, as she came face to face with a creature she never had any plans of being so close too in her entire life.

The dragon let out a mighty roar as Mina once again took flight, gripping the little girl close to her. Much to her dismay, the dragon followed her into the air. Knowing she could not outrun the beast, she decided to try to lose it in the nearby canyons at the base of the air temple.

A thunderous roar from behind let her know that if she wanted to lose the dragon, she did not have much time. It could fly through the air at a much faster pace than she could and it would be mere moments before it caught up with her.

Finally, the rocky walls of the canyons came into view and she dove straight for them, the beast not far behind. Knowing now wasn't a time to be picky, she chose the first canyon she saw and flew down inside. The dragon wasted no time in following her down the tight canyon, proving not it was quite nimble as well as fast.

Mina gulped, now realizing she would have to fight the dragon in order to get it off of her. As delicately as she could she propelled herself and the baby on top of the glider, with her feet balancing carefully on the thin wood staff.

With only one arm free she gathered as much strength as she could muster and send a powerful gust at the dragon, smacking it across its nose. The dragon let out a brief cry as its head snapped back before making for a quick retreat above the canyon.

Mina's victory was short lived, as just as it appeared the dragon was giving up it opened its mouth to unveil a powerful fire building from the creature's insides. She hastily repositioned underneath the glider and took off towards the bottom of the canyon, hoping the dragon's flames could not reach that far down. The heat she felt rushing towards her begged to differ and Mina quickly turned directions and shot off into one of the many caves along the walls of the canyon, hoping the flames would not follow her.

Luck was clearly not on her side for as soon as she landed the flames found their way into her hiding place. She bent a small bit of air into her hand to create a vortex as her staff began spinning, creating an air shield. Her shield was no match for the intense flames though and the ferocity of the blaze pushed her against the cave wall, just as the creature's attack ended.

Once again her back took the brunt of the hit and she fell to the ground in a heap, carefully shielding the girl from the hard ground. The adrenaline began to exit her body as she could feel her muscles tighten and her breathing get short. Her clamped shut eyes suddenly shot open in horror as she realized that the little girl had not made a noise since her small cough on the way to the stables.

Mina carefully removed the blanket which was now covering the girl's face, half expecting to find a mangled baby's corpse. To her relief though the baby was still unharmed and was actually smiling at Mina, her tiny gray eyes squinting as she giggled at the older airbending girl.

Mina fell back on her back, too exhausted to stand. "Alright...little girl." She said awkwardly as she realized she didn't actually know her name. Her crib would have said it, had it not been destroyed by the collapsed roof. "Let's just get some sleep for now. Too tired."

The gray eyed little girl seemed to understand what Mina meant, for she curled her body even closer to the older girl. It took no time for the two air nomads to fall asleep.

* * *

><p>A cry echoed loudly through the shallow cave, bringing Mina's slumber to an abrupt end. "Uh, what? Huh?" Mina looked around in the dark for a second before remembering where she was.<p>

For the first time in hours she was able to move her arms and legs freely, so she made her way over to the cave's entrance, the little girl still crying while tucked under her arm.

The night sky had overtaken the red hue from before and based on the position of the moon Mina estimated it to be around midnight, which meant that the poor little girl had gone a full day without eating or drinking.

Contemplating her options she knew that the only place close enough to get food would be the temple. Knowing an infant could only go so long without sustenance, she decided that it was worth the risk. Using an a gust to propel her staff back into her hands, she was just about to take off before looking down at the now silenced girl.

"You need a name." Mina declared more to herself. She thought for a while before arriving on one that seemed to fit the little girl. "Etain."

Etain instantly smiled upon hearing her new name and Mina knew she had made the right choice.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long before the Eastern Air Temple came into view and the sight made Mina's heart sink. Her home was still ablaze with fire, although not nearly as much as when she left it this morning.<p>

She prayed that this was a sign that the attackers had since moved on and perhaps her fellow air nomads had moved back in to begin cleaning it up.

Not trying to attract any unwanted attention, she landed at the bottom of the temple, near one of the orchards where most of the temple's fruit came from. Her hopeful spirits were crushed as she saw that all the fruit bearing plants had been burned, save for a one apple tree that miraculously survived.

Etain didn't seem to mind, as the little girl ate apples to her heart content. Mina was just grateful that the girl's baby teeth had all come in, meaning she wouldn't have to find any mothers for the baby to feed from.

After they both had their fill of apple, Mina filled a sack she had found with more of the fruit knowing that food might be scarce within the temple. Feeling a bit braver since their arrival, Mina wrapped Etain up in her blanket and ascended the temple's central staircase.

The next closest place would be the stables, however a quick look revealed those were in just as bad as shape as when she had fled. She checked everywhere: the living quarters, the nursery, the airball field. All of them were as deserted as the last.

The last place that she hadn't checked did give her a bit of hope though, for it was the place in the temple that the air nomads valued over any other place in the temple. That place of course being the meditation circles at the top of the temple, which were surrounded by a natural water spring that ran from the top of the temple all the way down to its base.

She leapt up the last set of stairs and was instantly hit with a smell so foul she nearly fell back down the stairs. She covered her mouth and nose with her orange over shirt and pressed on.

She turned the corner and was met with the source of the smell. The most heart wrenching sight her eyes had ever seen.

Piles of corpses, all nearly all burnt or hanging on to the last few embers. On some of the corpses she could still clearly make out the tattered remains of orange and yellow clothes.

In what seemed like an instant she had flown down to the base of the temple and was splashing water from the ocean in her face in an attempt to wake herself from this nightmare. After soaking herself to the bone she clutched onto Etain tightly, her sobbing rocking her back to sleep.

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you guys so much for reading this chapter. I know that I said that this story wouldn't be getting updated for another two weeks, but I really wanted to get this chapter out there. Also to be clear the bold words at the top are the chapter's name, not the location. Although it serves as both the location and chapter name for these first two chapters. Anyway, I know that most were expecting a return to Owyn and Kiron and we will get to them, but they are not the only main characters of this story.<p>

Not much else except pronunciation: Etain (E-tayn) Mina (Me-nuh) Lio (Lie-oh)

Thank you so much again and until next time, please enjoy.


	3. The Northern Air Temple

**The Northern Air Temple**

Tuyen meditated atop one of the temple spires, trying to focus solely on his breathing. The forty year old air bending master was having trouble with this normally easy task. He couldn't help but have his mind wander to the near future.

He had just been given a chair on the high council and their first meeting was tomorrow. It also so happened to be perhaps the most important meeting in the entire history of the Air Nation. He knew he was going to be facing an uphill battle in the meeting as well.

Being the youngest to ever be appointed to the High Council came with a lot of grief from the other members, many claiming that Master Swami only picked him as his successor as a form of favoritism towards his former student. Tuyen shook his head, knowing that those doubts would disappear in time. Trying to convince them that the rumors are true will be a much more difficult task. There was no way they would believe him, their entire lives had been lived in peace and with the Avatar in their nation there was no way anyone would attack.

Already knowing that he would need substantial evidence to persuade them, Tuyen sent out his former student, Kona, to gather some information from the Fire Nation. Kona was due back tonight and Tuyen wanted to make sure he could talk with him before the council meeting tomorrow.

A gust of wind disturbed his meditation and he adjusted his dark black beard before opening his eyes. Kona rubbed his hand over his newly tattooed head arrow as his former teacher slowly rose from the ground, his long red and orange cloak fluttering softly in the wind.

Kona straightened his orange tank top nervously, knowing that his master would not approve of his new choice in clothes.

"I liked you better in the training tunic." Tuyen finally said after a few moments of staring at Kona while stroking his beard.

"Hey, what can I say? It's hot in the Fire Nation." Kona shrugged slightly before a giant grin broke out on his face. He closed the distance between the two of them and hugged Tuyen anxiously, who in turn hugged him just as tightly.

A moment later and Tuyen was all business once more. "What did you find out?"

Kona looked at his boots before answering. "I'm afraid that the news is quite grim. Whispered conversations, bar talks, the guards chatting... they all said the same thing. The Fire Nation is going to attack soon."

"How soon?" Tuyen asked calmly.

"I don't know. They all talked about this comet though. I read everything I could about it, but all the books said was that the comet brought new life to the Fire Nation and it was a time to rejoice. I'm pretty sure they are going to attack on the day it arrives."

"And what day would that be?"

"I couldn't find out. The books were barebones at best with information about this thing. And when I asked someone they took one look at my clothes and walked the other way."

"Did you warn the other temples as I asked?"

"Yeah, but I'm really not sure they all believed me."

"And what of my other request?"

"I spread as many rumors as I could. I really think that they believe that the Avatar is here at the Northern Air Temple." Kona smiled mischievously.

"Excellent, with any luck they will ignore the other temples and only attack here."

Kona cracked his knuckles before replying, "Yeah, and then they won't know what him."

Tuyen wrapped his arm lightly around Kona's shoulders and began leading him down into the temple. "So tell me, did Vania give you any trouble?"

"That big fur ball? As if, me and her got along just fine."

"You know that the option of having your own bison is always available, right?"

"I know, but you know me, I am a very hard man to please."

Tuyen chuckled softly at his antics. "Well then, I must retire for the night, big day tomorrow."

"G'night master."

"Kona." Tuyen called out just as the young airbender was walking away. "Thanks." He said sincerely before heading towards his bedroom.

* * *

><p>"Absolutely not! There is no way that the Fire Nation would be so foolish as to attack us now!" One of the other council members reiterated for the umpteenth time.<p>

The council meeting had begun about an hour before dawn and was now entering its second hour, the heat from the early morning sun was particularly unforgiving today.

Tuyen resisted rolling his eyes once more. "All I'm saying is that with the mysterious death of Avatar Roku and the Fire Nation colonies already being set up in the Earth Kingdom, there is a possibility that they might attack us."

Master Swami, who sat in the meeting as a way of mediating between Tuyen and the other council members, finally stood up. "I agree with Master Tuyen." The near ninety year old airbender smiled at his former apprentice. "These are troubling times and we must prepare for anything."

"Are you suggesting we build an army?" The High Elder of the council spoke out.

"No, I am simply saying that we not get so set in our ways that an invasion happens right under our noses!" Tuyen yelled out in exasperation.

Before any of the other members could respond the door to the council room suddenly burst open, revealing a very distraught looking Kona.

"What is the meaning of this?" The High Elder cried out.

"My apologies masters, but I think you should see this. The sky has turned completely red and a comet is approaching from the east."

"The sky has no effect on our day to day basis." The High Elder replied.

A deafening roar overtook the entirety of the temple immediately after the words left his mouth. Tuyen looked across the room, seeing varying faces of confusion and sadness.

"It's the Fire Nation." Tuyen's call brought them back to reality. "Gather the children and leave. Kona, you're with me."

* * *

><p>Tuyen and Kona encountered yet another firebender wandering the halls of the air temple. Even with the strength of two master airbenders they struggled to defeat any of the Fire Nation soldiers they had encountered thus far. The power and strength of the flames were enough to cut through most of even the most advanced airbending moves.<p>

After a few minutes of tense fighting, the two benders did manage did throw this firebender out a window with their strength combined into one air blast.

Rounding the next corner they came upon two young boys, their training robes soaked with tears as they huddled close to one another in a dark corner.

Tuyen shook their shoulders gently and upon seeing another Air Nation member, the two boys sprung up from their position and hugged onto him tightly. "Come with us boys, we'll get you out of here."

The four of them sprinted down the hallway heading towards a staircase, but stopped short at a window when they heard nearby voices. Kona halted them and made a signal to get down low, while he and Tuyen peered over the windowsill.

In a courtyard a few stories below them there were three Fire Nation soldiers, two wearing the standard armor while the third was dressed much more regally, including a gold hairpiece.

"Fire Lord Sozin." One of the armored ones addressed the regally dressed man. "We have gathered all the young ones that we have found as per your instruction, but none have shown any signs of being the Avatar."

"Well keep it up. He's bound to be here somewhere, I'm sure of it." The older man replied.

Kona turned to Tuyen and in a hushed voice said, "I can't believe it. We even fooled the Fire Lord."

Tuyen shook his head. "All we have done is fooled ourselves. Look at what has happened Kona, our temple has been nearly destroyed because of our false rumors."

Kona shot back a wicked grin before turning back to the window. "Well I'll make him pay for what he has done."

Before Tuyen could even question him Kona had shot out through the window and descended into the courtyard. The Fire Nation men didn't have any time to recognize their intruder before a powerful air blast sent all of them careening at a wall.

Kona smiled brightly when he saw the two armored men were knocked out cold by the blast, but was quite surprised to see the ancient looking Fire Lord stand up like nothing happened.

The two young air nomads made to go help Kona, but Tuyen's firm grasp held them in place. "No, he can handle himself."

Sozin wasted no time before sending a flame blast out from his extended hands. Kona blocked it expertly with an air shield, but the sheer force of the blast knocked him back a few feet. Knowing he couldn't last long on the defensive, he used a gust of wind to propel himself into the air. Sozin fired several flame bursts at him, Kona managing to splice through all of them before landing delicately in front of the firebender.

As Sozin gathered energy for another attack, Kona quickly shot his palm forward. A poweful air gust hit Sozin square in the chest and pushed him out of the courtyard towards the cliff side. After chasing his target down, the fight was now out of sight of the Tuyen and the other two young airbenders.

Worried about his former student, Tuyen told the two of them to continue towards the bison stables, where he would meet up with them shortly. Tuyen chased down the two fighters, arriving on a nearby roof just as Kona began to flip in the air over Sozin once more.

A flame pillar erupting from the Fire Lord's hands chased Kona through the air, but the firebender cut it short just before it could catch up to the airbender.

Tuyen jumped down from the roof, but suddenly the whole fight seemed to change. Where once the air was heated and smoke filled, now it seemed to be dry and full of static. Instead of preparing another flame blast Sozin was making hand movements the likes of which neither Tuyen nor Kona had seen a firebender make before.

Kona landed hard behind the Fire Lord, ready to strike yet another blow. However, just as he landed Sozin ceased his hand movements and his right hand extended out towards Kona. Expecting another flame blast Kona prepped himself to make an air shield, but the flames never came. A bright blue flash shot out from his extended fingertips and hit Kona square in the chest before he had time to react. Kona let out a cry of sheer pain before his body was shot off, tumbling down the rocky cliffs.

Tuyen let out a cry of anguish before unleashing all his might unto the Fire Lord. The old man struggled to fight off the countless gusts and was now teetering on edge of the cliff. Before Tuyen could find the strength to deliver the final blow a burst of flames interrupted their duel.

Tuyen attempted to fight off the new firebenders who had come to the aid of their Fire Lord, but it wasn't long before they had him trapped against the cliff side. Sozin stepped forward after ordering his men to stop firing. "Tell me where you are keeping the Avatar and you will live."

His request was met with Tuyen sending an air blast his way, knocking him off his feet. The other firebenders all unleashed their flames at their superior's attacker. Tuyen brought up an air dome to protect himself before dissipating it and sending the remaining air at the Fire Nation soldiers. Using the distraction he jumped down the cliffs, escaping the unwinnable battle.

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><p>It didn't take him long to find Vania. She was in a cave at the base of the one of the mountains the temple stood atop of. Tuyen would always take her here when he first got her. He rubbed her nose sympathetically before climbing aboard. He grabbed the reins and gave a half hearted "yip-yip". His eyes were locked in a mixture of sadness, anger, and determination. Tuyen had to know if others had made it. He set a course for the Western Air Temple and urged the bison to go faster.<p>

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><p>AN: Thanks so much for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed. In this chapter you can see why both Kiron and Lio were not surprised in the previous chapters to see the Fire Nation attacking. In the show Gyatso and the other council members seemed to know something was up so I thought that having airbenders in the Fire Nation would be a good way to get the information.<p>

Also, I figured that being able to bend lightning is still generally unknown to people outside the Fire Nation at this time, hence Kona and Tuyen being so surprised when Sozin uses it.

Anyway, not much else except pronunciation: Kona (Coh-nuh), Tuyen (To-yin), Swami (Swah-me), Vania (Vuh-nee-uh)

Thanks again for reading and please enjoy.


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